Nonstop flight route between Tauranga, New Zealand and St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Tauranga Airport (TRG), Tauranga, New Zealand and MoD St Athan (DGX), St Athan, Wales, United Kingdom would travel a Great Circle distance of 11,488 miles (or 18,488 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Tauranga Airport and MoD St Athan, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Tauranga Airport and MoD St Athan. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Tauranga Airport (TRG):

• The closest airport to Tauranga Airport (TRG) is Matamata Airport (MTA), which is located 25 miles (41 kilometers) W of TRG.
• Tauranga Airport (TRG) has 4 runways.
• Tauranga Airport is located within a Control Zone which is controlled by Tauranga Tower.
• The furthest airport from Tauranga Airport (TRG) is Granada Airport (GRX), which is nearly antipodal to Tauranga Airport (meaning Tauranga Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Granada Airport), and is located 12,403 miles (19,961 kilometers) away in Granada, Spain.
• Because of the intensive growth of the Tauranga region, the airport has now been hemmed in by residential and industrial development.
• Because of Tauranga Airport's relatively low elevation of 13 feet, planes can take off or land at Tauranga Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• There are four tarmac gates at the terminal.
• Tauranga airport is the fifth busiest airport in New Zealand in terms of aircraft movements, with 86,935 movements during 2010.
• A number of small charter and training operations are also based here along with maintenance providers, Tauranga Aero Club and Bayflight Aviation.
• The airport was opened in 1936.

Facts about MoD St Athan (DGX):

• MoD St Athan (DGX) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to MoD St Athan (DGX) is Cardiff Airport (CWL), which is located only 4 miles (6 kilometers) E of DGX.
• In 2009 building work was due to commence on a new defence training academy with its heart at St Athan.
• After the war, airmen of the Airframe and Engine trades continued to train at St Athan, but in 1955 this training dispersed to RAF Kirkham and RAF Weeton.
• Because of MoD St Athan's relatively low elevation of 163 feet, planes can take off or land at MoD St Athan at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• RAF St Athan was also home for the Royal Air Force Administrative Apprentice Training School.
• The MOD continued to negotiate the project with the Metrix Consortium, but the price rose several times, reaching £14 billion in mid-2009.
• The furthest airport from MoD St Athan (DGX) is Dunedin International Airport (DUD), which is located 11,960 miles (19,248 kilometers) away in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand.